TOKYO, Feb 13, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - nexo Standards, the open standards association dedicated to the creation of implementation specifications for card payment acceptance globally, and JCB International Co., Ltd., the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., today announced that JCB became the Principle Member of nexo Standards in its Card Schemes category.

nexo Standards, headquartered in Brussels, works on behalf of all card payment stakeholders to harmonise contact and contactless card payment acceptance. By developing new protocols and implementation specifications which promote interoperability between card acceptance and acquiring solutions, together with integrated retail and terminal management systems, nexo Standards is developing a new generation of universal card payment standards.

As a Principal Member, JCB will validate that JCB's technical requirements for card payments and cash withdrawals are supported by nexo protocols, with a particular focus on the nexo-FAST suite of specifications. nexo-FAST specs provide an unambiguous description of the application on an EMV Chip and PIN payment terminal which delivers compliance with the European Payments Council's SEPA Cards Framework. By establishing common standards in this area, nexo-FAST enables a uniform transaction user experience across all payment networks utilising SEPA compliant terminals. It also provides a one-stop-shop for EMV and SEPA compliant terminal testing, reducing the risk of interoperability obstacles emerging between payment applications and, as a result, promoting an open market for EMV and SEPA terminals.

Arnaud Crouzet, General Secretary, nexo Standards, comments: "nexo is delighted to welcome JCB to its growing portfolio of Principal Members. Success in our mission to harmonise card payment acceptance globally relies on our engagement with international payment brands like JCB. Through nexo-FAST, nexo Standards has placed a major focus on developing specifications that facilitate the implementation and interoperability of EMV and SEPA payments acceptance. JCB's participation in nexo-FAST is a testament to the importance of this work."

Tsuyoshi Notani, Managing Director, JCB International (Europe) Ltd., adds: "JCB is pleased to join nexo Standards and contribute to its mission to harmonise payment acceptance worldwide. EMV contactless and Chip and PIN payments, together with the EU's SEPA initiative are important drivers in the European payments market. It is important that JCB participates in the development of the nexo-FAST standards, to ensure that the acceptance infrastructure built on those standards is truly international in its capability."

As a result of JCB's participation in nexo Standards, payment acceptors, processors, payment service providers and vendors will soon be able to implement JCB contact and contactless transaction kernels into their EMV and SEPA compliant terminals as specified by nexo-FAST. They will also be able to test their implementations using JCB's test cases for common certification, ensuring their terminals will accept JCB payments without issue once deployed.

About Nexo Standards

nexo is an open and global standardisation association, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Its mission is to unite the players of the card-based payment industry on the definition and enhancement of payment acceptance solution implementation specifications.

To ensure the interoperability between card acceptance and acquiring solutions and integrated retail and terminal management systems, nexo drives the development, delivery and maintenance of a new generation of universal card payment standards, protocols and implementation specifications.

Established in 2014, nexo was born out of the merger of three historical contributors of card payment standards and specifications: EPASOrg, the OSCar consortium and the CIR SEPA-Fast technical working group.

nexo originated the entire ISO 20022 standardisation process for card payments and is now a world leader in card standardisation. Its international member-base includes, payment acceptors, processors, card schemes, payment service providers and vendors.

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading payment card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. Its acceptance network includes about 32 million merchants and over a million cash advance locations in 190 countries and territories. JCB cards are now issued in 23 countries and territories, with more than 100 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to provide responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide.